Think Before You Ink

     A person’s image describes a lot about his or her characteristics and personality. On a daily basis, people unknowingly judge others based on one’s appearance, and whether you like to hear it or not, it’s the truth. Before two people exchange words and short conversations with each other, they both subliminally form pre-judgements against one another based on clothing, dialect, and the overall initial presentation that one has made.
     The common and popular trend among teenagers and young adults today is to express themselves  through the work of body art, more commonly known as tattoos. A tattoo is a permanent image drawn with ink on your skin that represents or symbolizes something. Tattoos have become predominately visible on the skin of teenagers within the concluding years of the last decade and have only grown more and more popular since then. Tattoos and teenagers are definitely here to stay as they are the latest and newest fascination and because they are, after all, permanent.
     Teachers and other adults may not exactly feel comfortable with the new tattoo movement, but with each generation comes something controversial that eventually becomes socially acceptable. The generation that raised the ambitious teenagers of today have the right to preach caution when getting tattoos, though, because they definitely come with a lot of risk factors, especially if not done professionally.

The risks of permanent tattoos:

• Infection – Dirty needles can pass infections like hepatitis and HIV.
• Allergies – Allergies to various ink pigments in both permanent and temporary tattoos have been reported and can cause problems.
• Scarring – Unwanted scar tissue may form when getting or removing a tattoo.
• Granulomas – These small knots or bumps may form around material that the body perceives as foreign, such as particles of tattoo pigment.
• MRI complications – People may have swelling or burning in the tattoo when they have magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This happens rarely and does not last long.

 What are your feelings about tattoos on every other teenager walking around on campus at Westside High School now? Are tattoos attractive to you? Are they plain awful to you? Whether you hate them or love them… remember to thoroughly THINK before you INK!

Day of Silence: April 16, 2010

     School is already challenging and hard enough with quizes, tests, and the general pressure from parents and teachers that students have to deal with on a daily basis. The life of an average high school student consists of long days, short afternoons, and even shorter nights. Teenage students have to divide their day and maintain an organized schedule in order to have homework time, study time, and then bed time.

     On top of everything else going on at school, high school teenagers have to have their “me time” as well as a social life. To many, high school is a critical point in life where many students develop serious friendships and relationships, and if you break the trust between the parties, prepare for the ultimate revenge as you have probably brought social suicide upon yourself. At this point, revenge may taste more bitter than sweet to you.

     Bullying, harassing, and teasing are all factors that may bring down a student’s emotional well-being and drain the happiness and joy out of their lives. Bullying was exactly what drove the two harassed male students at Columbine High School to massacre their classmates in 1999 as well as the male college student at Virgina Tech to go on a shooting rampage in 2007, killing himself in the end.

     Bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgender students in school, on the other hand arguably have it a lot harder than the average student. The lifestyle that they live are unacceptable among many societies, and many of them face difficulties on a daily basis. In 1996, the first National Day of Silence debuted at the University of Virgina, and has had nothing but positive and strong feedback since then.

     The Day of Silence has become the largest single student-led action toward creating safer schools for all, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. The organizing efforts had reached over 8,000 middle schools, high schools, colleges and universities across the country by 2008; its textured history reflects its diversity in both numbers and reach.

Four truths about the National Day of Silence:

1. The Day of Silence’s purpose is to bring attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment and effective responses.

2. Hundreds of thousands of students of all beliefs, backgrounds and sexual orientations participate in the Day of Silence.

3. Day of Silence participants encourage schools to implement proven solutions to address anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment.

4. The day is a positive educational experience.

     Westside High School always has a small amount of students who participate in the event annually, and this year was no different. The Howler hopes you had an enjoyably quiet day and encourages you and your friends to get educated about the cause and maybe even get involved next year!

Teams jock for position as playoffs near

Alright, the NCAA had its moment for hoops. Now it’s time for the big boys of basketball.

The NBA playoffs kick off Saturday and the best of the west and the beasts of the east are set to make the road to the Finals a memorable one. But can this year’s first round action top last year’s?

One intriguing matchup is the Texas showdown between Dallas and San Antonio. The two teams faced off in the season finale with the Mavericks prevailing and snagging the season series 3-1.

Okay; all of the numbers point to ‘Big D”, but don’t sleep on the seasoned Spurs. Even with the league’s oldest lineup with Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and a recovering Tony Parker, this series will be no cakewalk. Pop and the boys in black and silver preach defense and can last in games when they’re having a poor shooting night.

On the other hand, it seems almost like Dirk and his squad never have a poor shooting night. The 11-year veteran was 7th in scoring with 25 big ones a game. Mid season signees, Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood didn’t hurt the cause either with 16 and 9 points per game, respectively.

Sleeper Teams
They’re youthful, feisty, and did I mention young? The Oklahoma City Thunder are a force to be reckoned with out west and are led by the league’s top scorer, Kevin Durant. Every game, the guy proves why he is not only one of the best scorers in the league, but one of the best players period.

Although the Hawks are one of the best teams in the league, many do not consider them legitimate contenders. With Jamal Crawford coming of the bench and Joe Johnson at the helm, the boys out of ATL will breeze by Milwaukee and maybe even sneak by Orlando and Cleveland. We’ll see.

Blood drive a success!

HOSA would like to thank all the students, faculty who  donated on March 30, 2010!! Many students and parents came out to each save three lives. It was truly a successful day with 268 donors and a total of 280 products collected. We even had to turn people away due to time constraints! Thank you for Committing for Life Westside!

 

Check out the 2010 Houston International Festival!! April 17-18 & 24-25

Attention all Westside wolves, teachers and parents! Need something to do this weekend and next? Well go Downtown and check out The Houston International Festival, April 17-18 & 24-25! Every year, Houston hosts the iFest as they turn their spotlight on a different country or region in alternate parts of the globe.  This year, its spotlight will be on the beautiful countries of The Caribbean. The iFest brings high quality entertainment, cultural exhibits, and a great time to all who come to participate. The Houston Festival Foundation Inc., a non-profit organization that was established I 1971, is behind the great event. Because of their non-profit status, iFest tickets are able to remain low and affordable to all. Money taken in from the festival goes right back into it and helps fund arts and education programs which reach nearly one million students in the Great Houston area including Fort Bend and Galveston school districts.

There’s something for everyone at the iFest: eight music venues, six international arts markets, 50 food vendors offering cuisines from around the world, international artisan demonstrations, educational interactive exhibits, cooking demonstrations, fashion shows, street theatre, kids activities, plus so much more! As an added bonus, for students who are in need community service hours, iFest enjoys having volunteers who’ll help make the festival come alive. You can even go online and sign up to volunteer! Being a volunteer has its special perks as an added bonus: free parking, free admission, a free iFest T-shirt, prizes, free snacks and drinks. Hurry though, signups are on a first-come, first-served basis!

Admission tickets are on sale both online and at participating H-E-B Stores in the business centers. Be sure to hurry and buy your discounted $12.00 tickets now through April 12 to save some cash! Ticket prices will go up to $17 after April 12. All tickets for children 12 & under are $3 on Saturdays and free on both Sundays courtesy of the Target Kids Free Sundays program. Rain or shine, the iFest will not be cancelled! A little rain shouldn’t stop you from coming out and having fun!

For more information about the iFest, be sure to check out the website: www.iFest.org. All the answers you seek to your questions (concerning parking, musician performances, saftey…etc) will be on the website, but if not, you can also email (contactus@ifest.org) or call them (713.654.8808). No need to stay home this weekend or the next, come out to the iFest 2010 for an unforgettable experience Westside!!

Reggae Fest!

This upcoming weekend is the 17th annual Austin Reggae Festival, also known as Marley Fest. This year, they are adding a 3rd day to the festival, so it begins on Friday afternoon,April 16 through Sunday evening, April 18. It is going to be located at the Auditorium Shores in Austin which is an outdoor venue with a great view of the Capital City. This celebration of spring brings together great music, tasty foods, and arts and crafts.

Reggae is a music movement created in Jamaica and is characterized by soulful beats and songs about unity, love, and the purpose of sending that message around the world. The bands headlining are Easy Star All Stars, The Mighty Diamonds, and the Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars. There are also many other bands lined up such as Mystic Roots, Ashes of Babylon, and Spiritual. There will also be dozens of vendors set up around the venue; some will have a wide variety of international foods for you to sample and others will be selling unique and handmade items.

Not only is it an incredible time, but you will be helping a great cause. A large portion of proceeds from the festival benefit the Capital Area Food Bank which nourishes hungry central Texans by providing food and grocery products to more than 350 partner agencies in 21 central Texas counties. They request that you bring two cans of food to donate when you get to the festival. Over the last fifteen years, this event has generated more than 350,000 pounds of food for the less fortunate hungry families throughout the central Texas region.

So if you are able to head out to Austin this weekend, make sure you check out ReggaeFest to enjoy international foods, spiritual Reggae music, unique arts and crafts, and help out those who are less fortunate, all while having a great time.